Garment-supporter.



No. 729,785. PATBNTBD JUNE 2, 1903.4' J. R. MOCOLL.` n

` GARMENT SUPPURTER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 11. 1902.`

MODEL.

'me nomas Pzrcns w. mommrnp., msmnsrou. D, c.

- referred to herein and form a part hereof,1

UNITED STATES i Patented June 2, 190; l PATENT OFFICE.

JAY ROBERT MCOOLL, OE KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO WHEELER i & BALDWIN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GARNI ENT-SUPPORTER.

sPEcrFIcATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,785, aateduune 2, 1903.

Application'led February l1, 1902. Serial No. 493,503. (Model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

3e it known that I, JAY ROBERT McCoLL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a garment -supporter, and more particularly to a device for supporting ladies skirts at the back.

An objectof the inventionis to provide a device which is cheap and simple and which can be readily attached to the garments and easily operated to secure the garments together, also to provide a device which when in operative position lies perfectly fiat and causes no unevenness in the garments or discomfort to the wearer, also to provide a device which does not have to be applied to` the garments with great accuracy as to position, and which when applied does not read- `ilybecome detached and does not stain, tear,

or otherwise injure the garmentsl These and other objects of my invention will more readily appear from the following description. y A

My invention consists in the novel parts,

improvements, and combinations herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, which are illustrate several embodiments of my invention andA serve, in connection with the `description herein, to explain theh principles of `the invention and the best modes contemplated by me of carrying those principles into effect.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the position occupied by the Figs. 2 and 3 .trating the position occupied by the form of the device shown in Figs. 16 and 17.

In accordance with my invention a pair of iiat members 1 and 2, having a suitable degree of stiifness or rigidity, are secured each along one of its edges to one of the garments 3 and ewhich are to be secured together, so that when the garments are in the proper relative position each of said members may be placed between the other plate and the garment to which the latter is secured, whereby when subjected to the external pressure of the garments or of a belt or band the members are firmly clamped in a position to prevent separation of the garments.

In the best embodiment of the invention the thereon, as shown in Fig. 1. One of the members, as 1, may be additionally secured to the garment at one or both ends, if desired, to facilitate the operation of fastening the garments together and to prevent lateral movement of one with relation to the other when the parts are inoperative position. It is intended, however, that the weight of the supported garment shall be borne by one or both of the horizontallines of attachment rather than by any attachment at the ends. To this end the members are preferably made of the "same width inorder that both of the hori- `zontal lines of attachment may be made effective through the stiffness of the plates to support the garment. When considerably elongated, the members are made of material which is sufficiently iiexible or pliable to readily conform to the shape of the body.

The members 1 and 2 may be secured to the garment by any suitable means. In accordance with the preferred embodimentfof the invention the members 1 and 2 of the` fastener each consist, as separately.illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, of a thin plate of suitably-flexible .materiah as sheet metal, celluloid, hard rubber, cardboard, starched fabric, dac., covered with a suitable soft ma- IOO terial, as fabric, leather, rubber, &c. As clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7, the covering material of member 1 is projected a suitable distance beyond one of the longitudinal edges of the stiffening-plate, as at 5, and preferably beyond the ends of said plate, as at 6, so that the member may be secured to the garment by lines of stitches, as at 7 and 8, respectively. As shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, the covering material of the member 2 is projected along only one side of the stiffening-plate, as at f), to enable the member to be secured to the garment by a line of stitches 10. Vhen the parts are clamped in the position shown either by the waistband of the outer garment or by Aa belt 11, the free edge of each of the members 3 and 4 will iind a bearing along the secured edge of the other member, and the members will by reason of their stiffness thus form airm means of attachment between the two garments. Vhen thus secured in place, the members can become detached only by being displaced upwardly or by being swung outwardly from the body of the wearer. Even the slight pressure of a loosely-applied band or belt will, however, prevent any such outward displacement. The vertical stiffness of the plates is materially augmented, moreover, and their tendency to be displaced outwardly is materially reduced 'by the fact that when in operative position they are curved somewhat to conform to the shape of the body.

In Fig. 3 the parts are illustrated in the position they would occupy when the waist is worn outside of the skirt. It will be noted that by securing the plates at the edge of a garment they may be used either on the inside or the outside of the garment, so that the garment may be attached to either the inside or the outside of another garment.

While the construction shown in Figs. 4 to 7 is in some respects preferable, the invention may be embodied in other satisfactory forms, some of which will now be described. In Figs. 8 to 11 the shorter member is formed by molding a pair of plates 15, of celluloid or a similar material which will not stain or otherwise injure the garments, onto the opposite sides of a piece of fabric 16, said fabric being extended beyond one of the edges of the plates to form a fastening-strip. The longer member is likewise formed by a pair of plates 17, of celluloid, which are molded onto the opposite sides of a piece of fabric 1S,

which forms the fastening-strip. The cloth 18 may obviously be extended beyond the ends of the plates 17 to enable the member to be secured at its ends to the garment; but where it is desired to secure this member at its ends I preferably provide for this purpose a series of openings or eyelets 19 near the ends of the plates, substantiallyas shown.

According to the form of the device shown in Figs. 12 to 15 the members of the fastener are constructed entirely of a pair of plates 2O 21,of celluloid, hard rubber, or other suitable material, said plates being provided along one of their edges with a series of eyelets 22 and 23, respectively, which form a means whereby the members may be secured to the garments. The longer member 21 may also be provided at each end with a series of eyelets 24.

'As thus far described, two pairs of the supporting members are intended to be used, one pair being located on each side of an opening in a skirt or waist, as indicated in dotted line in Fig. 1. Where either garment does not open at the point where the support is required, the supporting member may be extended, if desired, so that only one need be used. Such a construction is illustrated in Figs. 16, 1-7, and 18. As here shown, the waist member 26 consists of a strip of suitable material, as starched fabric, which is folded longitudinally and is adapted to be secured along one of its edges to the garment. The other member 27, which may be in one or two pieces, is preferably made of celluloid or of some other material which will protect the member 2G from the moisture of the body. Only one side of the member 2&3-- to wit, the side located between the member 27 and the garment to which the latter is attached-is required to be heavily starched. The member 26 may be extended around the body as far as it is desired to support the skirt, as indicated in Fig. 18.

Vhere one member is secured at both ends to the garment,.asl well as at oneof its longer sides, it is preferably made considerably longer than the other member, so that the members will not have to be secured to the garments with great accuracy as to their lateral positions in order to properly cooperate with each other.

It will be observed that either member may be secured to either garment 5 but it will usually be found most convenient to secure the member which is attached at the ends to the garment which is secured in place first.

It is among the advantages of my invention that it can be applied to garments opening anywhere; that it can be worn with very loose waistbands, especially if the ends of one member of each pair are fastened; that it is adapted to any width waistband or any kind of waist; that the load or weight of the skirt is disa tributed over long lines of attachment, and consequently does not tear the clothes, and that no part of the fastener can be seen or detected if it is properly attached, even if no outer belt is worn.

My invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the precise construction shown, nor to the particular construction whereby it may be carried into effect, as many changes may be made in its construction without departing from the main principle of my invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

IOO

IIO

IIE

l. In 'a garment-supporter, the combination with the upper and lower garments adapted to be secured under tension around the body, of a plate secured along one edge to each garment in the direction of the tension thereon, each of said plates when in operative position being so located as to be clamped by the external pressure of the garmentsbetween the other plate and the garment to which the latter is secured, whereby the weight of the supported garment is sustained along the lines of attachment between the plates and the garments, substantially as described.

2. In a garment-supporter, the combination with the upper and lower garments and a belt or band at the waist-line of one of said garments, of a plate secured along one edge to each garment in the direction of the belt or band, each of said plates when in operative position being so located as to be clamped by the external pressure of the belt or band between the other plate and the garment to which the latter is secured, whereby the weight of the supported garment is sustained along the lines of attachment between the plates and the garments..

3. In a garment-supporter, the combination with upper and lower garments adapted to be secured under tension around the body, of a pair of plates, one of which is secured along its upper edge to the lower garment and the otherof which when in operative position is secured along its lower edge to the upper garment and is clamped by the external pressure of the garments between the first plate and the lower garment said plates being secured to the garments in the direction of the tension thereon whereby the weight of the supported garment is sustained along the lines of attachment between the plates and the garments.

Signed at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, this 6th day of February, A. D. 1902.

.TAY ROBERT MCCOLL.A

Witnesses:

CHAs. E. FERRis, F. B. DAVANT. 

